Government Shutdown Sideeffects: ‘Extremely Damaging’ to U.S. Intelligence Operations

The government shutdown is “extremely damaging” to U.S. intelligence operations, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Wednesday.

Clapper noted that he has worked in the intelligence field for 50 years, and “never seen anything like this.”

The shutdown “seriously damages our ability to protect the safety and security of this nation,” he told a Senate panel.

The law allows intelligence agencies to hold on to the employees needed to avoid “eminent threat to life or property,” he noted. Following that guide, approximately 70% of employees were furloughed, he said.